Malibu Farm San Diego — Restaurant in San Diego

The poor service was not redeemed by the good food and great view. I will not be going back. On Sunday morning 12/8/24, 3 of our party of 6 arrived to put our name on the list. We were informed there was no wait but we could not be seated or even put our names down on the list, until the whole party was present. I have never been to any restaurant where you have to have the whole party present to even be put on a list. In another 15 mins we had 5 of our party of 6 present, still they would not seat us. We finally were sat at a huge table in an empty restaurant. In other words, we would have been sat at the same table had we been 5 or 6. Had we been seated we could have started ordering drinks and apps. We were celebrating a birthday so ordered drinks all around and spent quite a bit of money. We ordered our food, which was enjoyable but over prices (a salad $22 to add chicken is $13 which is more expensive than the whole chicken main course for $29). It is also true that the menu states that requests to modify a dish will be declined. We asked the waitress if this was the case and she said we could modify if we wanted to. I read that others here were denied modifications, but if they are no longer sticking to that policy the mention on the menu only serves to leave a bad taste in your mouth that they do not aim to please. Because of the birthday we asked the waitress if there were any complimentary birthday surprise, she offered flavors of ice cream. We chose chocolate which was enjoyable until the bill came. The ice cream had been added to the bill and when asked why, the waitress told us that all the other favors were free except chocolate, which she failed to mention despite being asked for complementary birthday treats. So strawberry and cookies and cream is free but chocolate you have to pay for? It’s ridiculous. The waitress rightfully removed it from the bill. As we were wapping up our brunch, what I suspect was the manager on duty came over to our table and said happy birthday to the guest of honor and then went on to say in the same breath that they only allow 90 mins per table to be seated and that we had to leave as we had reached our time limit. We hadn’t even paid the bill yet! I was completely taken aback by this lack of customer service. To add the illogical actions, a table the same size was available next to us and quite a few other smaller tables were open. The manager apologized for making us leave as we told her we still have ti pay the bill, but she said there was a huge waiting list and that it was policy. We left the restaurant where we found no line and only 3 people waiting around the entrance. The long waiting list mentioned is highly suspect. The parking front of the restaurant is $8/ hour and only after reading the reviews here did I lean that we could have had our parking validates by the restaurant. No one ever asked nor were there signs for validation. Again, customer experience completely over looked at best or deprioritized at worst. I have never been asked to leave a table when enjoying a meal or ever treated so inhospitably. The only reasonable explanations I can offer is that management at the location is not experienced and does not know how yet to run the restaurant effectively or corporate is so under water on cost of real state for this area that they are prioritizing table turnover above all else, sadly sacrificing the customer. All 6 of the group agreed that despite the enjoyable food they would...

We had our wedding in the Marina & Pond Room and it was a great experience overall. Riley was excellent at communicating throughout the planning process and made sure everything stayed organized. We brought in all of our own decorations and flowers, and the venue was very open and flexible with how we chose to decorate. The atmosphere was beautiful and felt open and welcoming.We had around 60 guests, which fit comfortably in the Pond Room for the ceremony and the Marina Room for dinner. Initially, we were told we would need to order our own chairs for the ceremony, which we did. Later, we found out that using the venue’s benches was an option. It would have been helpful to know that earlier, but in the end, we were glad we went with the chairs—they looked elegant and worked well for the setting.The bartenders and waitstaff were fantastic, and the appetizers, salad, and salmon were all delicious. However, we did have a specific request for the steak to be cooked medium, but it came out rare. Unfortunately, some guests found it too undercooked and didn’t eat it. Additionally, there was a long wait time between the courses, which threw off our timeline for the rest of the night and delayed some of the planned events. For dessert, we were especially excited about the cakes as we are dessert fans—we had ordered nine, each serving up to ten people, to ensure everyone had a choice between chocolate and carrot cake. We opted for mini bites instead of slices, based on a recommendation we received after we had already made that decision. Sadly, the mini bites were incredibly small and underwhelming. A standard slice of cake from the restaurant is usually tall, satisfying, and you can easily get at least 10 bites out of it. In comparison, the mini bites were so small and flat that I could fit up to three in my mouth at once. It seemed like only one cake’s worth of bites was served, which left guests wanting more or did not get any at all and were highly unsatisfied with dessert which we feel should be the best part of dinner that everyone looks forward to having at a wedding. My mother and mother in law as well as others told us the next day none of them received cake which was very disappointing to hear after paying over $700 on cake. We are all still wondering where the rest of the cakes went… In hindsight, we would have chosen traditional slices or brought in a custom cake from outside. Aside from the steak and dessert issues, we still gave the place 5 stars because everything else was great. The venue provided a beautiful setting and an overall enjoyable experience for our...

Taste and presentation and quantity was unbelievable! I was a little hesitant after looking at the prices but definitely worth every penny.

All the coffees in the group were enjoyed - Cappuccino, Americano and Latte. All presented well too.

Chicken and Broccoli Quesadilla - God this is an appetizer to share on the table.. the flavor was really unbelievably good. Not super super, simply cheesy but just the right amount of everything going on. Definitely do not think that a chicken and broccoli quesadilla would be good!

Vegan Chop Salad - quite a large and hearty salad. We considered asking about adding chicken on top but then got the tacos instead for protein. Good decision there because this salad was really large! Ask for the dressing on the side and only added a little because we didn't need too much. The squash and beads added a lot of flavor in there and there was a generous amount of chickpeas as well!

Green Chicken Tacos - so huge!! I was skeptical about getting this after seeing the price and that it was only three tacos but after looking at the amount of chicken that was on there 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 I think even half the amount of chicken would have been enough for one taco so it was really, really and overloaded taco! Very flavorful though, but just the right amount of cheese and beans on the bottom.

Coconut French Toast - just wow! We had this as dessert after the salad and tacos and it was a really good one. The crispy pieces were so nice and even the soft ones on the inside! Just the right subtle amount of coconut flavor that wasn't too strong. They used crushed fresh cranberries (probably coz we went on New Year) for the fruit topping and I think some other berries like strawberries or blueberries would have been better because the cranberries are a little too tart. Otherwise really nice

Swedish Mini Pancakes - Friend got this item and she said it tasted nice but from looking at it I felt like there was quite a small portion size on that plate.

Fried Egg Sandwich - And at the friend got this one and it really was quite a large sandwich. Seemed very perfect for brunch and like it actually tasted good with that perfectly cooked fried egg there.

Beef Burger - And at the large potion size item here. I didn't try this but the friend who got it finished it real quick. They also said that the puree (It look like mashed potatoes but I'm sure it was some other vegetable) was...